"Jason?"

"What's up, G?"

"Wally isn't all that bad, you know?"

A pause. "What are you implying?"

He laughs. "Nothing really," he says dismissively. "I'm just thinking that it's okay to let him in."

"I hope you know what you're doing."

•••

There's less than three days until the performance. Feeling very sleep deprived and just a little nervous about going, Gardner has felt very troubled during the night shift and many thoughts haunt him dreams. There's a hint of guilt because he's trying to fool an innocent old man who just wants to find someone whom he could call family.

Someone who isn't Gardner LaRou.

There's a knock on his door. It's persistent and annoying and interrupting his sleep. The noise causes him to slide off the crumpled sheets of his bed. He falls to the floor and after a few more seconds of that somewhat-muted knocking, he picks himself up.

Gardner rubs his tired eyes and grumpily walks towards the door. Under his breath, he's mumbling about how he is so not traught and that he probably only got around three hours of sleep at this point. He also laments about how it's way too bright as he unlocks the door without peeping through the peephole.

"Dude!"

Startled, Gardner takes a step back as Wally invites himself in. The ginger kicks off his shoes and closes the door for Gardner. He looks excited and the younger teen stares at him wearily.

"West? Don't you have school?" he asks, knotting his brows together. "It... it is a school day, right?"

Wally nods. "Yeah, duh," he says. "Don't worry. I asked my parents if I could skip so I could show a friend around. It took a bit of negotiating but I got them to agree."

Gardner raises his brows. "Oh?"

"Get dressed," Wally says in a rush. "I wanna take you somewhere."

A snort escapes Gardner before he can contain it. "Is this your way of asking me on a date?" he asks with a teasing smirk. "I must say, you have an interesting approach."

"D-dude!"

"I'm flattered, West, really," Gardner drawls with a sardonic and shit-eating grin. He even has the gall to wink at the older teen before walking off in the direction of his room. Over his shoulder, he calls out, "I'd hate to break Grayson's heart though, you know?"

•••

Wally is still a little flustered despite the fact that the both of them had left Gardner's apartment quite a while ago. The two had grabbed a late breakfast (for Gardner's sake, really) before heading off in the direction chosen by the speedster. The walk includes a bit of bonding that allows Wally to glimpse inside the dead ringer's personality.

"So," Wally says. "Why do you take the night shift? It's not like anyone but me comes in."

"True. After all, no one but you seems to have a bottomless pit of a stomach that needs to be satisfied at two-in-the-morning," Gardner replies. He looks off to the side. "My reason for working so late is silly."

"Can't be that silly."

Gardner sniffs indignantly. Shifting his eyes, he glares at Wally without turning his head even the slightest bit. "You'd laugh," he says. "And I don't like being ridiculed."

The speedster raises his brows before he turns his head to give Gardner a reassuring smile. "No worries, dude," he says. "I promise you I would never laugh, 'kay? Just like I promised to never pity you."

The black-haired boy regards the red-haired one with an odd look before he returns all his attention to the sidewalk in front of them. The two of them had been walking for a few minutes now. Surprisingly, no one questioned the two teens or accused them of truancy. Then again, it isn't really anyone's business anyway.

"I have nightmares," he confesses quietly. "Stupid, I know, but whenever I close my eyes I can't help but see it all over again. And isn't it enough that I had to actually live them before? So, taking the night shift helps because when I get... back to my apartment I just collapse on my bed without hesitation. And if I do have a nightmare, I'll be too tired to care."

"Oh," Wally says, not knowing how to take it in. "You know, Dick used to have nightmares too. I always did my best to help him whenever he had one."

"So, even the Golden Boy of Gotham City had trouble sleeping at night?" Despite the way it was phrased, Gardner's voice holds no mocking tone. His blue eyes rise up to the skies that pale in comparison.

Wally grins stupidly. "Doesn't everyone have trouble at some point? He always used to tell me that sometimes your memories can be a great dream or an even greater nightmare but they help you grow, you know? His nightmares were always about his memories too."

The younger teen snorts. There's no flicker of emotion in his face though. "Wise guy," he remarks. "I would have liked to meet him."

"And he would've liked to meet you," Wally replies. He lets out a loud laugh. "He's a real prankster sometimes. He'd probably rope you into them somehow."

Gardner says nothing for a few seconds. Both boys easily lapse into a not-so-awkward silence and Wally wonders if Gardner is going to go back to being his distant self. Then, Gardner speaks up, asking where Wally was taking them because he's tired of not knowing.

"There's this place where you can practice some acrobatics and tumbling and all that," Wally says. "I figured I could take you so we can safely practice. Don't worry, I know enough to be a decent spotter."

Blue eyes light up and pale lips twitch at one corner. "An interesting first date idea, wouldn't you say? I'm flattered, really, I mean, you even asked permission to skip school just for me."

Chanting a mantra about how superheroes should not injure innocent civilians, Wally rolls his eyes. "Dude, dude, please," he says, "I... okay, fine, I'm not one-hundred percent straight, okay? There."

Gardner stops to stare at Wally. The older teen stops after taking a few steps without realizing Gardner was no longer by his side. He turns to face Gardner. There's no one else on the sidewalk, unsurprisingly, and he scratches the back of his neck while looking off into the distance.

His cheeks are burning, as are his ears. He clears his throat. "You're okay with that, right? Like, I wouldn't say I'm gay but I wouldn't say I'm straight or bisexual either, you know?" He laughs uneasily and ducks his head a bit. "I don't know what I am, honestly. There's so many sexualities and romantic-orientations. Sometimes it's okay not to know and not to label yourself and just because I also like boys doesn't mean I'm attracted to you and—"

"Oh shut up," Gardner says, interrupting Wally's wayward speech. "It's okay, West, really. I sincerely apologize if you felt a need to come out because I was just teasing."

"That's good," Wally says. "And it's fine, Gardner. Just... just don't tell anyone. I don't think anyone else knows."

"You have my word."

Even though they still aren't friends, Wally knows he can trust Gardner to keep a secret. After all, the boy seems to have a hundred of those.

•••

Gardner stares apprehensively at all of the mats and nets. He looks up to see a trapeze and the height is rather... startling. One glance at Wally tells him that the speedster expects him to be able to go on that thing.

"So, think you can use a trapeze?"

"I..." Gardner trails off, biting his lip. He looks away. "I, uh... I'm kind of..."

Wally raises a brow. "Do you want me to get an actual spotter? I mean, you have a net but I'm probably not up to your standards on a spotter."

"No, no," Gardner says. He gestures to the ladder leading up to the platform of the trapeze. He doesn't look up though and chooses to keep his eyes on the ground. "I... there's something I should probably tell you."

"What?" Wally frowns. "You aren't afraid of heights, are you?"

"You hit the nail on the head, West," Gardner says with a dry chuckle. His arms move so his hands could attach themselves just above the opposite elbow.

The ginger purses his lips. One hand goes to cradle his chin and the other rests on his hip. He hums thoughtfully. "We'll probably need to give you a cast or something, then. You know, an excuse to keep you from going on the trapeze if it's set up and if the old man wants you to go on." He turns curious eyes onto Gardner. "Is there a story behind it? You don't have to tell me if you aren't comfortable."

A small and rare smile appears on Gardner's face. "It was a chilly night and I just remember... running and running and running some more." His fingers tighten on the long-sleeved jacket he refused to take off. "And then I was falling and there was so much blood and, suddenly, there was nothing. And... I don't know. I think I was scared."

Wally keeps himself from gaping. He's surprised that Gardner had shared that. He's also very... he doesn't know how to describe it. Wally just nods.

"Okay, I won't make you go on the trapeze," he says softly. "Not unless you're comfortable. How about you do some tumbling action?"

"Yeah," Gardner says. "I can do that."

He easily does a back bend and kicks himself up and then goes back down into a handstand. He walks on his hands for a few moments before getting back up to his feet in an elegant display. Gardner frowns, remarking about how he's a little rusty and should probably stretch first.

"You surprise me more and more everyday," Wally manages to say.

For a moment, yet again, Wally saw Dick Grayson.

Things are getting interesting, aren't they? :0 Gardner had a fear of heights? And the memory associated with that fear seems quite familiar, wouldn't you say? ;) And it seems like Gardner is starting to open up a bit more.

So, I hope you all remembered that I did say that there might be slash. Maybe. *shrugs* Please don't tell me not to include it or that my story would be better without. Knowing me, I would include it out of spite. :P

Next chapter may or may not bring us to the performance? I haven't started it yet. Let me tell you that behind the scenes, Jason has logged onto the main computer of the Batcave to... change whatever he needs to. ;) Truth be told, his knowing Gardner was originally for the sake of taking care of all the issues I'll run into when Gardner encounters the Bat Family.

There is, however, one issue Jason can't solve. Gardner is afraid of heights. Dick Grayson? Not so much. Do you think Gardner would be willing to try and conquer his fear to keep the game going?

Anywho... in case I didn't make it clear, Wally's trying to go as all out as possible to help Gardner play the role of Dick Grayson. In case Haly wants to put him on the trapeze to see if he really is Dick (since no one can fly like a Grayson), Wally intended to gauge Gardner's skills if he has any.

Honestly, if you haven't figured it out already, this was meant as more of a filler. :/